Uukwambi authority to rehabilitate sand-mined sites

The Uukwambi Traditional Authority says it has started the process of rehabilitating all sand-mined borrow pits in its area of jurisdiction.

This comes after some residents of Onatshiku village in the Oshana region’s Okatana constituency recently questioned why the traditional authority has not yet rehabilitated the large sand-mined site, after previously allowing sand mining to generate funds. Residents said the traditional authority had indicated that rehabilitation would occur once sand-mining activity had ceased.

The spokesperson of the Uukwambi Traditional Authority, Timoteus Kalimba, told The Namibian on Sunday last week that they have listed all sand-mined sites in the Uukwambi area that need rehabilitation.

This includes the site at Onatshiku village, which is required to be rehabilitated according to the Ministry of Environment and Tourism.

“The process has started and I have already given the list of the number of these sand-mined sites to the environment ministry,” said Kalimba.

He said some old sand-mined sites in the Uukwambi area were mined illegally, while others resulted from companies constructing roads.

These sand-mined sites, he said, will also have to be rehabilitated.

The spokesperson said that, apart from their sand-mined site at Onatshiku village, other sites to be rehabilitated are found at Elim in the Omusati region, and Onalunkono, Emono and Iiyale in the Oshana region.

“One borrow pit at Emono has already been rehabilitated and the ones at Iiyale and Onatshiku villages are the ones to follow now,” he said.

According to Kalimba, sand-mined pits are rehabilitated by the government at the request of the traditional authority, for a fee.

A senior official at the Ministry of Environment and Tourism, Hiskia Mbura, who deals with matters related to the Environmental Management Act, told The Namibian on Monday that the ministry does not rehabilitate mined sites.

This responsibility lies with the environmental clearance certificate (ECC) holder, who in this case is the Uukwambi Traditional Authority.

“We are just the regulator,” said Mbura.

For a site to be rehabilitated, he said the ECC holder should first submit a detailed draft rehabilitation plan for approval.

He said approval is required because, in some cases, more damage can be caused during rehabilitation.

Mbura added that he is aware of several sand-mining activities taking place across the country, and that where traditional authorities have allowed sand mining and wish to rehabilitate the affected sites, they can usually enter into agreements with the operators or collectors to carry out the rehabilitation work, as these operators have the necessary equipment.

The traditional authority, as the ECC holder, would then be responsible for paying for the work.

Sand-mining activities at Onatshiku village ceased in August year after the ECC for the Uukwambi Traditional Authority expired.

The authority did not apply for its renewal as the activity had caused massive environmental damage, which residents were highly concerned about.

Both mature and young palm trees have now been uprooted and are dying, while the activity has also created a large pit which could be dangerous to people and animals, especially during the rainy season.

Last year, environment commissioner Timoteus Mufeti said the Uukwambi Traditional Authority received an ECC to allow sand mining at Onatshiku, and that while the sand-mining pit was authorised by the ministry, it had extended beyond the approved boundary.

An October 2020 report by the Institute for Public Policy Research entitled ‘Depleting Natural Capital: How Namibia has been losing wildlife, forests and sand through misgovernance and maladministration since 2005’, says illegal and unregulated sand mining was getting out of hand in Namibia and had become a major environmental concern, as unreclaimed sand pits pose a danger to humans, livestock and wildlife.

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